“Worship: Where God isn’t moved by the quality of our voice but by the condition of our hearts.” – Chris Tomlin
For those who haven’t been following my blog, I have been writing a mini-series on the heart of worship. The reason I write so much about worship is because worship is a huge part of my calling. Even though I have been on a worship team or leading a worship team for almost twenty years now, God has been teaching me so much about worship in this year alone. There’s a good chance I probably still have a lot more to learn but as we wind down 2018, I write this blog today with a different heart and renewed eyes. A lot of what I have to say in this blog post will more than likely reiterate things I have already pointed out in this series on worship; however, I believe this part will bring a fresh perspective on worship that I have yet to effectively articulate in this series thus far. Before we begin, I encourage you all to read the previous two parts. The links are provided below.
What is worship? Almost instantly, most Christians in America think of music. I have been writing these series from the perspective of a worship team so it is obvious that music is definitely something that comes to my mind when I think about worship. Music is without a doubt the most commonly used form of worship today. Music is the staple of many worship experiences in thousands of churches across America so it is no surprise that music has become ingrained in our minds as something synonymous with worship. But the truth is music is not the only way to worship God. Music is just one of the many facets we use to elicit worship and to usher in the presence of the Holy Spirit; however, true worship will always be an intimate expression of love and adoration for our God that originates from the heart.
Several months ago, I had to revaluate my heart. For the past two years, I have been playing electric guitar on the worship team at my home church. The keyboard is my primary instrument so when I was asked to play electric guitar, I knew I was in for an interesting experience. I’m no Lincoln Brewster but I quickly developed a fondness for the electric guitar and my lead playing improved. I was enjoying it for a while but I slowly found myself getting annoyed with one of our sound people. When this sound person was present at church and running the sound booth, the bass and guitars were turned down so low that they got lost in the mix; however, whenever this person was gone, all instruments could be heard in the house including my guitar. It didn’t take me long to figure out what was going on. This individual has two family members who happen to be full timers on the worship team. With that said, you can probably guess which channels were mixed the loudest. This was really starting to bother me because I felt like playing a muted instrument was a complete waste of my time and efforts. This went on for weeks and it was slowly starting to affect my attitude. Although I was never openly vocal or disruptive about my dislike concerning the poor mixing, I found myself privately complaining about it in my inner circles.
I knew my attitude was a problem but I was blinded by the severity of it until I got to lead worship at another church back on September 16th. I participated in practice with the members of the worship team at this church and it was the longest practice I have ever been a part of. Practice for that service lasted over 2 hours because some of the ladies were constantly interrupting practice to have the sound guys turn down or turn up certain instruments and mics. Being in this practice was really frustrating but I remained quiet. Even though I was never disruptive during practice at my home church, I became shamefully aware that my attitude was no different than the ladies on this worship team. It opened my eyes and challenged me to reevaluate my heart.
Somehow I had forgotten how to worship and got complacent playing an instrument. I asked God to do a work in my heart and to change my attitude. I remained on the worship team at my home church but I quickly began to see things from a new set of eyes. The focus of worship should always be on God but I picked up on the nuances from some of the worship team members at my home church and saw that the focus was more on the musical composition, the sound, and the volume. Others simply valued the act of playing or singing more than the actual worship experience. This time I was bothered for a completely different reason. It was bad attitudes that I found to be problematic.
Over the next few weeks, God began recalibrating my heart and taught me how to worship again. On November 1st, I attended my first Chi Alpha service on the campus of Texas Tech University. For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t the one leading worship or playing an instrument. I was on the other side of the house monitors. The service took place in a small lecture hall and the worship team consisted of a single acoustic guitar, a cajon, a keyboard, and two singers. There were no lights or fancy backdrops, no computers or MIDI controllers, no electric guitar pedal boards or tube amps, no bass guitar, and no drum kit locked behind a cage. It was as stripped down as I have seen it get in a long time. As worship began, the voices of the students quickly became the dominant source of sound. It wasn’t long after that I sensed a special presence of the Holy Spirit that I had not felt in a long time in a worship service. God began to minister to me and I swore I almost heard the voices of angels as we began to sing The Secret Place by Phil Wickham. I left that service encouraged and wanting more of it!
As the weeks went by, I was provided another opportunity to lead worship again at that same church on November 18th. To tell you the truth, I was not looking forward to that practice. In my mind I was prepared to address the bad attitudes but it turned out to be a smooth practice without any issues. For some reason, that Sunday morning before service, I was having trouble with the elevator at the hotel I was staying at and it caused me to be 10 minutes late to Sunday school. I never like being fashionably late so instead of going to Sunday school I decided to go to the sanctuary to pray before the service. I knelt at the altar and paced at the front of the sanctuary asking God to anoint the services. That service turned out to be one of the best services I have had the privilege of leading worship for. The Spirit moved and God’s presence was felt strongly because my heart was prepared and strongholds were broken through the power of prayer.
Shortly after I had returned home from that service, the Lord laid on my heart that He was going to use me during a new season to facilitate change and reform worship. God began to give me a vision that needed to take place in order to bring about this change in the ministry He is preparing me for. I also felt the Lord leading me to set the example before implementing these changes so I asked to take a hiatus from the worship team at my home church. In the weeks since, God has taught me a lot about worship and has brought this musician of twenty years back to the heart of worship.
With a new perspective on worship, I now understand that music is just a vehicle that helps us get to the destination. The means of transportation isn’t the most important thing; it is the destination that is our goal. The goal is sweet fellowship in the presence of our Lord. Unfortunately, church musicians and singers put more emphasis on the music, the style, and the performance that they miss the point of worship. Music isn’t required to worship God because true worship is an outward expression of love and adoration for our God that originates from an obedient and submissive heart. Music is just a tool and not the required means to facilitate worship. Worship is not an event to attend and watch; it is a lifestyle to be lived. The lifestyle we should live out is one that worships God daily because of His goodness and one that strives to offer Him pure and selfless worship because of His holiness. How will you choose to worship God today?
Joshua Hawk 
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